Local author Ava Montgomery shares her story of leaving an abusive relationship in her book, "I Won't Tell."
(Video by Lex Talamo)

Lorena Bobbitt, shown in a January 1994 file photo, became an international celebrity when on June 23, 1993, she pulled back the sheets of her unhappy marriage bed and cut off the penis of her husband, John Bobbitt.(Photo: AP file photo)

Lorena Bobbitt Gallo, who became famous in 1993 when she cut off her then-husband's penis, will speak in Knoxville next week.

Gallo will speak as part of a March 21 event that focuses on "ending domestic violence and creating new beginnings," according to an informational flyer. The session is 5-7 p.m. March 21 at Zoo Knoxville's Kids Cove rental tent. The event is free and open to the public.

When she was 24, Lorena Bobbitt became internationally known as the woman who cut off her sleeping husband's penis with a kitchen knife. She then drove away in her car, throwing John Wayne Bobbitt's severed penis out the window. Searchers found the penis and surgeons reattached it.

Lorena Bobbitt said then that she acted after her husband came home drunk and sexually assaulted her, a charge he denied and of which he was acquitted. Lorena Bobbitt, who said she was an abuse victim, was charged with wounding her husband. A jury acquitted her on grounds of temporary insanity.

In 2007, she founded the organization Lorena's Red Wagon, which works to prevent domestic violence.

Gallo, who divorced Bobbitt and uses her maiden name, will speak in Knoxville during events organized by the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law.

On March 21, she'll speak about her story and her advocacy since to help families facing the challenges of domestic abuse. She also will participate in a panel discussion addressing frequent questions about domestic violence. Those attending can meet Gallo and the other advocates 6-7 p.m. in a meet and greet session.

Those attending the session are asked to bring items for women and children living in an area shelter for families in crisis. Items can include cosmetics, toiletries, clothing or other objects that a woman leaving an abusive situation might need, event organizer and LMU law student Keri Rule said.

Bobbitt will also be part of a March 23 panel in which she'll talk about her experience with the criminal justice system, Rule said. That panel is part of the LMU Law Review's annual symposium. The symposium's theme is "Justice for All: Ethical Approaches to Mental Health & Criminal Justice."